Railway-lantern.



N0. 688,02l. PatentedDec. 3, IBM. J. F. KING.

RAILWAY LANTERN. (Application filed Oct. 8, 1901.) (No Model.)

' muuum'i employed for this purpose.

UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. KING, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

RAILWAY- LANTERN.

srnorricarioiv forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,021, dated December '3, 1961.

Application filed October 8, 1901- Serial No. 77,936. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. KING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway- Lanterns, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved lan tern for carrying torpedoes used by railroad men.

In railroading it often becomes necessary to warn the engineer of an approaching train, of trouble ahead, or for numerous reasons to stop. At night lanterns and torpedoes-are The torpedoes are adapted to be clamped to the rail over which the approaching train must pass,whereby when the same are mashed on the rail by the wheels of the train an explosion and loud report is made. Different signals may thus be communicated to the engineer, according to the number of torpedoes placed on the rail. The torpedoes now in common use are pro- 'vided with soft-metal clamping-arms which take on the sides of the rail and clamp the torpedo thereon, and often railroad men when carrying the torpedoes secure them to the wire frame of their lanterns by twisting the soft-metal arms around the frame-wires. This is objectionable, because thereby the clamping-arms are often broken and rendered useless and their unfitness for use is not discovered until the emergency arises.

My invention therefore relates to an improved construction whereby each topedo may be carried in a separate receptacle to avoid injury to the torpedo and rattle.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a lantern and wire frame provided with my improved torpedo-receptacles. view of same. Fig. 3 is a detail view, on a larger scale, of one of the torpedo-receptacles with the cover thereof thrown open and a terpedo in place therein. Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the torpedo-receptacle and cover when closed. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an ordinary torpedo. Fig. 6 shows a modification, on a smaller scale, of the frame supporting the torpedo-receptacle.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A des- Fig. 2 is an inverted plan ignates a lantern which is provided with an ordinary wire frame-base, which surrounds the lower collar 1), that incloses the oil-fount 0. While the surrounding base in the present instance is constructed of wire, it maybe made of sheet metal and of various shapes. In the present instance the said base comprises a circular wire at and a plurality of curved spreader-wires 6, extending to said circular wire downwardly from the Vertical circumferential wall or collar 1) and are suitably secured to the said circular wire d. This is an ordinary construction. My torpedo-receptacles are attached to the exterior sides of this base and not beneath the oil-fount.

Secured to the curved spreader-wires e at intervals to the surrounding base are the lateral arms f of a circular frame f. These arms f project from the circular frame at diametrically opposite sides, and the ends of said arms are each secured to one of the spreaderwires 6. It will thus be seen that the terpedo-receptacles are supported at the sides and between two adjoining spreader-wires.

A concave bottom 9 is suitably secured to the circular frame f and is provided with a central opening g. This bottom at the lower extremity of the circular frame is open or unsecured, leaving a slot or space g By this construction it will be seen that in rainy weather any water in the receptacle will drain from the bottom through the opening g and space 9 A spring-catch h, suitably secured, projects over the upper edge of the circular frame and holds the cover closed.

The cover t' is provided with a hingej at its lower edge, which is secured to the circular frame, and said cover is adapted to swing upward for closing the receptacle and take under the spring-catch h. It will thus be seen that a receptacle or compartment is thus formed for inclosing one torpedo. It will also be seen that the receptacles are separate or independent of each other and that each contains only one torpedo, and that they are spaced equal distances apart around the base of the lantern to keep the lantern well balanced and do not interfere with the removal of the oil-fount. It is also to be understood that while but three torpedo-compartments are shown in the drawings more or loss may be employed. The modification shown in Fig. 6 is merely for the purpose of illustrating other forms of spreader-wires e. In this instance the spreader-wires of the frame-base are made to form the circular frame and the cover t is hinged directly to the bottom g instead of to a separate wire frame.

In operation the two arms of the torpedo are folded over the torpedo, and the latter is then placed in one of the compartments and the cover is closed to confine the torpedo.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is-- 1. In a railway signal-lantern the'com'bina-' tion of a lamp; and a series of receptacles each adapted to hold a single torpedo and all surrounding said lamp.

2. In a railway signal-lantern the combination of a lamp provided with an oil-fount; a base surrounding said oil-fount; and a plural number of torpedo-receptacles attached to said surrounding base.

3. In a railway signal-lantern the combination of a lamp; a base comprising a circular wire and a plurality of spreader-wires; and a plural number of torpedo-receptacles secured to the said wire base.

4. In a railway signal-lantern the combination of a lamp; a base having a circular wire and a plurality of spreader-wires; and a torpedo-receptacle supported between two adjoining spreader-wires.

5. In a railway signal-lantern the combination of a lamp; a base; and a plural number of torpedo-receptacles secured to said base around the lamp and each receptacle being provided at its lower edge with an open space for the purpose set forth.

6. In a railway signal-lantern the combination of a lamp; a wire base; and a plurality of torpedo-receptacles secured on the exterior of said wire base.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses;

JOHN F. KING Witnesses:

CHARLES E. MANN, J r., CHARLES L. VIETSCH. 

